This application relates to baseball and softball bats and particularly to a bunt training bat.
Bunting is an important aspect of the games of baseball and softball. Significant improvement in quality of play and game enjoyment can result from developing and improving upon proper bunting technique, of which there are multiple kinds.
Bunting is a maneuver made with a bat by a batter in response to a ball thrown by a pitcher. The purpose of the maneuver is to contact the ball with the bat so as to push the ball downwards and into the field of play, thereby orienting and minimizing the movement of the ball such that it does not approach a fielder. By bunting a ball, a batter attempts to prolong the time it takes for his opponents to field the ball so that he may reach first base without being put out or another base runner may advance a base while the ball is fielded in an attempt to put the batter out.
There are four basic steps to the process of bunting. First, the batter “squares around” by turning so that his toes, knees, shoulders, and head are facing the pitcher. Second, the batter bends his knees slightly. Third, the batter holds the bat in front of him, approximately at the level of his eyes. To bunt right-handed, the left hand is placed on the handle of the bat, towards the batter's left, while the right hand is placed near the narrow part of the barrel of the bat, towards the batter's right, and vice versa. Depending on the bunting technique being used, the angle at which the bat is held may be approximately horizontal to the ground, or may be increased to approximately 45 degrees above horizontal by raising the barrel. Fourth, when the pitcher releases the ball, the batter adjusts placement of the bat by extending or flexing his legs to raise the bat up or down, respectively, so that the bat contacts the ball.
Variability in the execution of either of two acts can introduce variability in and impair bunting performance: the distance between handle and the hand that is placed near the narrow part of the barrel, and the angle at which the bat is held relative to horizontal. The invention disclosed, herein is for a bat that is modified in ways that enable improvement in practicing, executing, and teaching proper bunting techniques by providing objective feedback on whether a batter's positioning of a bat and his hands upon it are appropriate for a desired bunting technique. The invention disclosed herein also presents a means of providing visual feedback as to each of these acts during the execution of a bunt so that a batter may adjust his technique and improve performance and learn to consistently replicate proper technique.